Cool Stuff! – Many uses of used plastic bottles

I worked with the Nebraska State Fair to create a temporary installation to celebrate the Fair’s accomplishments in sustainability practices on its path towards becoming a zero-waste event. Garth Britzman

I am not a plastic person. Generally I love all-things-natural. If not handled correctly, plastic could cause terrible damage to nature and other life forms. For example we all know about the plastic bags that choke turtles in the sea. With plastic bottles, they are not bio-degradable so it is up to each of us to think of how to use it – apart from throwing empty bottles away in the recycled bin. People have been inventing new ways of using the bottles. In hot summer months here in Brisbane, a friend once told me to fill an empty plastic bottle with water and punch a pin hole on the bottom. Then, sit the water bottle at the base of my plants. Let the bottle slow-drip to ensure my plants don’t die in the harsh conditions. It works!

Pop Culture

In the greater scheme of things, plastic bottles are in art and design as in “Pop Culture”, the name of this installation (pictured below). Designer Garth Britzman with the help of students created this car port in Nebraska, USA. I know some of the readers here would have seen this picture before. I love the idea, simplicity of the theme, how the colours have been coordinated beautifully and, how useful the final product is. This is unless of course you are worried about your car getting stolen as the car port is not secured. Britzman also designed the dome pictured above with plastic bottles.

This designer loves to re-cycle and his work is also an exhibition. There is another link below showing an exhibition of a Garth Britzman design using re-cycled printed paper. I am inspired.

Britzman and University of Nebraska students put a total of 200 hours into this project, which received financial support from Fulbright Canada and the University College of Architecture. The bottles together form a bright, undulating parking canopy that is not only practical but also very attractive. When the project was complete, 11 students helped to move the canopy into place at 5.45am! This is such a fantastic project – simple but also eye-opening – which will help local Nebraskans to rethink their consumer behavior both on campus and beyond. + Garth Britzman Read more: Pop Culture is a Colorful Canopy Made of 100′s of Recycled Bottles in Nebraska Pop Culture by Garth Britzman – Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building